The Real Top Ten Book List?
In looking further at what Google is up to at the Frankfurt Book Fair this week, I stumbled on its own “Top 10 List” derived from the Google Book Search. The list – based on searches done between September 17 and 23rd – is somewhat eclectic (even bizarre) and bares scant resemblance to other book lists like Amazon’s best sellers. or the New York Times Bestseller List. I confess that I have read none of them though we do own one (in a different edition).
So Google’s Top 10 Books are
Diversity and Evolutionary Biology of Tropical Flowers By Peter K. Endress
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms
Measuring and Controlling Interest Rate and Credit Risk By Frank J. Fabozzi, Steven V. Mann, Moorad Choudhry
Ultimate Healing: The Power of Compassion By Lama Zopa Rinpoche; Edited by Ailsa Cameron
The Holy Qur’an Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Peterson’s Study Abroad 2006 (Thomson Peterson’s)
Hegemony Or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance By Noam Chomsky
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage
Perrine ‘s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense By Thomas R Arp, Greg Johnson
Build Your Own All-Terrain Robot By Brad Graham, Kathy McGowan
Reuters reports on the broader list. The first para shows (yet again) that the Continent is different, the last line proves the superiority of Italian civilisation, and the need for greater access to legal information:
Math and anatomy texts were among the most popular volumes for French readers, while the top German language books were on the subjects of computing and U.S. counterintelligence.
An English dictionary and “Administracion moderna” reigned in Spanish while “Tre metri sopra il cielo” (an Italian best seller whose title means three metres above the sky) and the civil code topped the Italian list.
I’m fascinated by booklists or lists of “bestsellers”. First, there is no necessary connection between being a “bestseller” or being a good book. The lists most often reflect individual preference, reading habits, and education. It is curious, though, how these lists do inadvertently show some of the fundamental differences in cultures. I don’t much like the Amazon list, because it is too general and too American; the NY Times is better, but ditto.
The Globe & Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/ is a better reflection of Canadian culture and the books we are interested in reading, I think, and one of our local Victoria booksellers Munro’s Books has a list that more reflects BC reading habits (ok, bluenosers – no snide comments!).
In the end, you can’t trust the lists – they are ok as far as they go. Amazon is good because you can see the contents of the book and look at some reviews – but, in a print world, there is no substitute for reading quality reviews and actually visting a book store or book fair.
Indeed, the best way to buy law books is still to attend a conference, such as AALS, talk to the publishers (and hopefully some authors) and check out the titles.
Even better is to go to the nearest pub and talk about books. Or about beer.
None of these lists has Anthony Beevor’s new title on the Spanish Civil War; although Munro’s does at least include the must read of the year. Tommy Chong, “The I Chong: Mediations from the Joint”. Hey, he was born in Canada!
Speaking of Tommy Chong there is a wonderful exhibit of the Chicano Art collection of Cheech Marin on at the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. Cheech has a great eye for bold artAn interesting CNN interview at http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/05/cheech.marin/ and a good review at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/24/DDGJ1K3K6G1.DTL
At some point, this duo woke up.
Cheech’s book is another must read of the year: http://www.americas.org/bookstore/category_5005_product_8319